Lest anyone think that the myopia of movie executives, with their mindless predilection for pointless remakes, superfluous sequels, and appalling adaptations of awful TV shows, is a recent development, here's Jamboree to remind us that that sort of thinking has been going on for many, many decades. Released in 1957, two years after Blackboard Jungle, the film that used Bill Haley and the Comets' "Rock Around the Clock" as its theme song and helped establish that rock ‘n' roll was capable of generating some serious ka-ching—Jamboree tried to cash in on the rock thing. The drama, such as it is, is typical B-movie stuff concerning “America's Sweethearts,” two young singers —Sinatra wannabe Paul Carr and Freda Holloway (whose parts were sung by Connie Francis)—threatened by the greed and egos of their respective managers. The real selling point here is the presence of rock and pop stars such as Jerry Lee Lewis, Fats Domino, Carl Perkins, Frankie Avalon, and, incongruously, Count Basie, along with a host of names long since consigned to the dustbin. Jerry Lee's vocal on “Great Balls of Fire” is crazed and wonderful, Basie and singer Joe Williams swing like mad, and even Avalon is surprisingly hip (well, almost). But most of the musical numbers (all of them introduced by well-known deejays of the era, including Dick Clark) are performed by folks like Buddy Knox, Jodie Sands, Ron Coby, Jimmy Bowen, and other subsequently obscure performers. Boasting a good black-and-white DVD transfer, this is strictly optional. (S. Graham)
Jamboree
Warner, 88 min., not rated, DVD: $19.98 Volume 20, Issue 6
Jamboree
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As of March 2022, Video Librarian has changed from a four-star rating system to a five-star one. This change allows our reviewers to have a wider range of critical viewpoints, as well as to synchronize with Google’s rating structure. This change affects all reviews from March 2022 onwards. All reviews from before this period will still retain their original rating. Future film submissions will be considered our new 1-5 star criteria.
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